The Essay

For many of us, isolation is disconcerting and challenging, but for wildlife sound recordist Chris Watson, it is something he actively seeks, so he can fully immerse himself in a place and capture its unique sounds in his recordings. In the fourth of five illustrated essays, Chris recalls his quest to record wild voices in the darkness and isolation of Dryburn Moor in Northumberland. It can be a real challenge to find a truly isolated place in the UK, but here on the high Pennines, Chris was rewarded with a serenade of birds, which he can hear but can’t see until the night evolves into day. Produced by Sarah Blunt for BBC Audio in Bristol.

For many of us, isolation is disconcerting and challenging, but for wildlife sound recordist Chris Watson, it is something he actively seeks, so he can fully immerse himself in a place and capture its unique sounds in his recordings. In the third of five illustrated essays, Chris vividly recalls his quest to capture the voices of a black throated diver or, 'musta kuikka', on an isolated lake in Finland having been inspired by a painting of Lake Keitele by Akseli Gallen-Kallela. Surrounded by a vast forest, he experiences a powerful sense and spirit of place as he watches, waits and listens. Produced by Sarah Blunt for BBC Audio in Bristol.

For many of us, isolation is disconcerting and challenging, but for wildlife sound recordist Chris Watson, it is something he actively seeks, so he can fully immerse himself in a place and capture its unique sounds in his recordings. In the second of five illustrated essays, Chris recalls an exhausting and chilling climb to the pinnacle of Skellig Michael, an isolated rock which rises over 700ft out of the Atlantic Ocean off the south west coast of Ireland to capture the wailing cries of the inhabitants which return here at night under the cover of darkness. Produced by Sarah Blunt for BBC Audio in Bristol.

For many of us, isolation is disconcerting and challenging, but for wildlife sound recordist Chris Watson, it is something he actively seeks, so he can fully immerse himself in a place and capture its unique sounds in his recordings. In the first of five illustrated essays, Chris recalls a trip to Antarctica, to a landscape which has been described as ‘The Great White Silence’ to record one of the greatest transitional events on the planet; the sounds of a glacier being transformed over the Antarctic summer from a solid mountain of freshwater ice into the salt water of the Ross Sea. Produced by Sarah Blunt for BBC Audio in Bristol. Photo courtesy Chris Watson.

The early powerful ruler who summoned spirits as well as armies. Christopher Harding portrays the lives of five colourful characters from Japan's past to answer the question, "Who are the Japanese"? Beginning in the twentieth century, he works backwards through time to reveal different dimensions of Japanese identity, encompassing sport, art, culture, politics, warfare and religion. In his final essay, Dr Harding reveals his sense of the transience of life inspired by Mount Fear on the northernmost tip of Japan's main island of Honshu. It prompts him to recall the first known named person in Japanese history, the shaman-queen Himiko. "By the time of Himiko's birth, attempts to grapple with the strangeness of life and to find ways of belonging in the world had resolved into the role of the shaman. Himiko was likely regarded, by dint of family or force of personality, as a shaman of particular potency." She received lavish gifts from the Wei Emperor in China and, "It seems ...that alongside mustering small ar

The 11th-century courtier who wrote what is thought to be the world's first novel. Christopher Harding portrays the lives of five colourful characters from Japan's past to answer the question, "Who are the Japanese"? Beginning in the 20th century, he works backwards through time to reveal different dimensions of Japanese identity, encompassing sport, art, culture, politics, warfare and religion. In his fourth essay, he compares Japan and the UK as mirror images of each other: two island nations, "both known for a certain reserve in their national characters, and both enjoying the stability that comes with constitutional monarchy." Murusaki Shikibu, who wrote "The Tale of Genji", had a ringside seat as lady-in-waiting to the eleventh century imperial court. "Here was a society blessed both with an almost impossible level of sophistication - in its poetry, pastimes, dress and general comportment and with female chroniclers capable of wringing every last delicious detail out of the personal foibles, fashion fau

The terrifying warlord who brought much of Japan under his control. Christopher Harding portrays the lives of five colourful characters from Japan's past to answer the question, "Who are the Japanese"? Beginning in the twentieth century, he works backwards through time to reveal different dimensions of Japanese identity, encompassing sport, art, culture, politics, warfare and religion. The subject of the third essay is the ruthless sixteenth century warlord Oda Nobunaga. Living at a time when order had broken down into warring fiefdoms, he paved the way for unified secular rule in Japan by attacking the military and political influence of the Buddhist sects. A fearsome warrior steeped in samurai culture, "Nobunaga was imagining its re-unification by identifying it with himself." Dr Christopher Harding is Senior Lecturer in Asian Studies at the University of Edinburgh. His books include, "The Japanese: A History in Twenty Lives" and "A History of Modern Japan: In Search of a Nation, 1850 – the Present".Produc

The creator of Atom Boy, who brought Japanese cartoons to the world. Christopher Harding portrays the lives of five colourful characters from Japan's past to answer the question, "Who are the Japanese"? Beginning in the twentieth century, he works backwards through time to reveal different dimensions of Japanese identity, encompassing sport, art, culture, politics, warfare and religion. In his second essay, he describes how the artist Tezuka Osamu helped shape post-war Japanese pop culture through manga and anime, Japan's instantly recognisable style of comic books and animated films, that he made famous worldwide. Dr Harding places Tezuka in Japan's centuries' old tradition of satirical art, though reflects that his Disney inspired creations such as Atom Boy may leave him "one day remembered for fostering a form of popular culture that was insufficiently angry, satirical or creatively critical of politics." Dr Christopher Harding is Senior Lecturer in Asian Studies at the University of Edinburgh. His books

The brutal coach who achieved a gold medal for Japan's women's volleyball team at the 1964 Olympics. Christopher Harding portrays the lives of five colourful characters from Japan's history to answer the question, "Who are the Japanese"? Beginning in the 20th century, he works backwards through time to reveal different dimensions of Japanese identity, encompassing sport, art, culture, politics, warfare and religion. In his first essay, Dr Harding recalls the first time Tokyo was due to host the Olympic Games in 1940. War intervened, the Games were cancelled and the young Daimatsu "The Demon" Hirobumi found himself in the army, learning tough lessons in survival. Postwar, he forged a career as the fearsome coach of the women's national volleyball team, pushing them to win gold at the Tokyo Olympics in 1964. "As the scale of destruction visited upon Asia and the Pacific by Japan became clear in the years after war's end, national self-questioning had turned into a painful business - a matter not so much of 'Who

It's the mid-1990s. Joanna Robertson lives in tumultuous Albania, where she's moved to be a journalist. King Leka Zogu returns from exile in a quest to regain his throne. Joanna meets the king as he campaigns in rural, monarchist strongholds ahead of a national referendum. But the country is unpredictable and dangerous, still in the throes of anarchy and violence, largely controlled by armed criminal groups. Does Joanna now know too much? When she’s the target of a shooting, and is later ambushed at gunpoint, she has to ask - has the time come to leave?Presenter: Joanna Robertson Producer: Arlene GregoriusPhoto: 'Theth - waiting for transport’ by Stan Sherer, from the book ‘Long Life to Your Children!’

It's the mid-90s, and Joanna Robertson has moved to Albania to be a foreign correspondent, on a hunch that something major was about to happen there. And it has: multiple pyramid schemes collapse, leaving many destitute. In the resulting uprising, the military's arms depots are looted - 2.7 billion items of weaponry, ammunition and explosives now in the hands of a population of 3.4 million, over half of whom are under 15. The country descends into violence and anarchy, the capital Tirana gets a record number of international visitors, in the shape of the world's media - but Joanna is well ahead of them, landing her scoop. Presenter: Joanna Robertson Producer: Arlene GregoriusPhoto: 'Theth - waiting for transport’ by Stan Sherer from the book, ‘Long Life to Your Children!’

It's the mid-90s and Joanna Robertson explores Albania's traditional north, where she finds lives are still led according to ancient rules codified in the 'Kanun'. It's a place where innocent young men are doomed to live in hiding to avoid being killed in blood feuds, and where for a woman to be unmarried is either a deep shame, or an honour - if she lives life as a man, in the absence of male siblings. In the country's south, the collapse of a pyramid scheme in which many lost everything leads to an anti-government uprising in the city of Vlore. When demonstrators are killed, Vlore swears revenge. Presenter: Joanna Robertson Producer: Arlene GregoriusPhoto: 'Theth - waiting for transport’ by Stan Sherer from the book, ‘Long Life to Your Children!’

It's the mid-1990s, and Joanna Robertson is settling in her new home: a crumbling flat in Albania's capital Tirana. The country is falling into crisis - miserably poor and with outbreaks of disease so bad that the World Health Organisation feels compelled to intervene. Plenty of material for Joanna to start filing her first news stories - from a bugged phone booth in a hotel, where the call has to be paid for in advance with a pile of painstakingly counted-out banknotes. Presenter: Joanna Robertson Producer: Arlene GregoriusPhoto: 'Theth - waiting for transport’ by Stan Sherer from the book, ‘Long Life to Your Children!’

It's the mid-1990s, Albania is in turmoil after decades of communist isolation. Drawn by the mystery of a country she knows little about, Joanna Robertson sets off to go and live there. In a used car and with only essential equipment, all bought with a business loan thanks to an understanding bank manager, she buys a one-way boat ticket for a place that she only has second-hand knowledge of, gleaned from an almost-empty Albanian shop in London's Covent Garden and exiles in a Soho coffee shop. Presenter: Joanna Robertson Producer: Arlene GregoriusPhoto: 'Theth - waiting for transport’ by Stan Sherer from the book, ‘Long Life to Your Children!'

Nobel laureate Naipaul began his career working in radio for the BBC, and it is also where writer Colin Grant met him towards the end of his life half a century later. How had the giant of Trinidadian literature changed during that time since being told to "write like a West Indian" and quickly becoming the precocious editor of Caribbean Voices? This polemical exploration celebrates his contributions, as well as examining his many contradictions.Seventy-five years ago, the revolutionary Caribbean Voices strand was established on the Overseas Service by trailblazing Jamaican broadcaster Una Marson. Every week for over a decade, it gave exposure on radio to emerging writers from the region such as Sam Selvon, Derek Walcott and George Lamming - many for the first time. Delving into the BBC's Written Archives, five writers go in search of five important figures who contributed to the programme throughout the 1940s and 50s, each of whom changed the literary landscape in a different way. This series is part archiva

During his time as a producer on the BBC's landmark radio programme, Henry Swanzy was credited with showcasing some of the 20th century's biggest Caribbean literary voices. His collaborator Gladys Lindo, however, has been forgotten. Academic and writer Jen McDerra finds her hidden in the archives.Seventy-five years ago, the revolutionary Caribbean Voices strand was established on the Overseas Service by trailblazing Jamaican broadcaster Una Marson. Every week for over a decade, it gave exposure on air to emerging writers from the region such as Sam Selvon, Derek Walcott and VS Naipaul - many for the first time. For this series, five writers go in search of five important figures who contributed to the programme throughout the 1940s and 50s, each of whom changed the literary landscape in a different way. Image: The above photo of Gladys R. Lindo is the first to be featured in the public domain. It was given to Jen McDerra by Gladys' grandaughter in Kingston, Jamaica in June 2021 and is reproduced here with the

The poet, folklorist and performer ‘Miss Lou’ made waves on air on both sides of the Atlantic. Coming to study at Rada in London shortly after WWII, her dialect verse was picked up and celebrated on the BBC through radio programmes like Caribbean Voices. For writer Kei Miller, who lovingly recalls the magic her words worked on his mother, she is rightly seen as a hero back home in Jamaica.75 years ago, the revolutionary Caribbean Voices strand was established on the Overseas Service by trailblazing Jamaican broadcaster Una Marson. Every week for over a decade, it gave exposure on radio to emerging writers from the region such as Sam Selvon, Derek Walcott and VS Naipaul - many for the first time. Delving into the BBC's Written Archives, five writers go in search of five important figures who contributed to the programme throughout the 1940s and 50s, each of whom changed the literary landscape in a different way. The result is part archival treasure hunt, part cultural history and part personal reflection on th

Arriving in Britain as part of the Windrush Generation, Andrew Salkey made vital contributions to the BBC's Caribbean Voices programme as a presenter, writer and reader of others work. But author of Rainbow Milk, Paul Mendez, knew little about him before coming across a striking image of man at the centre of the mid-20th century's black literary scene. Here he draws on that picture, following Salkey's journey from reading the work of other authors on air, to penning his own forgotten queer classic, Escape to an Autumn.75 years ago, the revolutionary Caribbean Voices strand was established on the BBC's Overseas Service by trailblazing Jamaican broadcaster Una Marson. Every week for over a decade, it gave exposure on radio to emerging writers from the region such as Sam Selvon, Derek Walcott and VS Naipaul - many for the first time. Delving into the BBC's Written Archives, five writers go in search of five important figures who contributed to the programme throughout the 1940s and 50s, each of whom changed the

Trailblazing Jamaican broadcaster Una Marson is rightly celebrated for being the BBC's first black producer and founding an innovative radio programme. But why has her own poetry been neglected? Author of The Confessions of Frannie Langton, and herself no stranger to the airwaves, Sara Collins goes in search of Marson's voice.75 years ago, the revolutionary Caribbean Voices strand was established on the BBC's Overseas Service. Every week for over a decade, it gave exposure to emerging writers from the region such as Sam Selvon, Derek Walcott and VS Naipaul - many for the first time. Delving into the BBC's Written Archives, five writers explore five important literary figures who contributed to the programme throughout the 1940s and 50s. The result is part archival treasure hunt, part cultural history and part personal reflection on the people behind the landmark institution. Producer: Ciaran Bermingham

Opera singer Peter Brathwaite shares his passion for five very different singers whose voices, artistry and lives inspire and move him, and whose stories he needs to tell.If you've listened to much pop music this century, you've almost certainly heard the voice of Alabama folk singer Vera Hall - though you might not know it. Brilliantly sampled by Moby in his single Natural Blues, Hall's extraordinary voice was recorded several times by renowned American ethnomusicologist Alan Lomax in the 1930s. To conclude his series, Peter explores what it is that makes this pretty much unknown woman's voice so particularly powerful, and reflects on why the singing human voice has the capacity to transcend time, space and situation and speak to us so deeply.